Happy Birthday---Long Lost Speedways.

[Jimmy McKinley]

Lake Whipporwill: "The Whip". Home of some of the best R/C races I've ever witnessed. A concrete, high-banked 1/10th scale version of Daytona (although in reality, the "trioval" was on the backside of the track from the drivers' stand, and the track was more of a "D" shape). Had a concrete infield as well, where a road course would come down off the banking. Pit Road was also set up there for the oval-only races. This place even had a real flag man and flagstand, and a VIP suite outside of turn four for race sponsors. Four- and five-day events were the norm here; teams would pull in with enclosed trailers - and this was FOR R/C (radio-controlled) RACE CARS!

Here's a TV commercial that aired on Orlando-area local stations:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRLkKghYxe0

Clarcona-Ocoee Horseman's Park was a 1/4 midget place; a tight little 1/10th mile high banked joint. I always thought that place woulda been good for R/C racing

[palmbayer]

Had some good times at " The Whip"

[Jimmy McKinley]

palmbayer: Did you ever get one of the cool "silk" jackets from Bob for winning (I believe) 6 A-mains? I always wondered whatever happened to (I think) Chuck Massey, who designed and built the PR-7 pan car chassis out of Titusville. I owned a PR-7 and got my first-ever A-main win with one in like 1989 at Space Coast Raceway in Cocoa.

[AB195]

Glad to see someone remembers Lake Whipporwill Raceway, and has proof to show. Right now, as it sits, the cement structure is gone, all the way around, but the dirt bankings that the cement held, are still there, pricisely as it was, yessirree. And it was big.

The high-banked, dirt banking inclines that used to hold it, now makes for a DOT-ordered retention pond, to catch rain water from the new parking lot that encompasses it now.

Claircona-Horsemans Parc Raceway, from what I have seen, is now just an empy area used to store firewood and hey, for the horses. Nothing of it remaines anymore.

[AB195]

and yet another--

Long lost Raceway has come---Dickie Joyce, a local well driller(and i have done some business with his company)--
Longwood Raceway---

Longwood, Hwy 434, on the south side, 2 miles west of I-4, near 427(Ronald Reagan Blvd), underneath big power lines--Dickie himself, made a big ol' 1/4 mile dirt oval for training puposes only, never spectated. He actually built it to test his race cars on, before he ever went to a local raceway to race.
I have seen it, and now a small part of it remaines as a retention pond, surrounded by a busy industrial park.
This is what AncrDave was referring to, long ago.
As I spoke to Dickie Joyce on the phone, he told me where to look, and I did--but all i saw was a retention pond, as usual.
I went back onto Historicalphotos.com, and blasted into the past, pulled it up, and there that little somebitch was, in full detail.

Dick Joyce raced at Rocket, Sunbrock, Old Orlando, Eau Galle, Seminole, and old Gainsville Raceway, probably more.
He told me about old Gainesvile Raceway, that it was located in an old peanut patch, owned by a (n-word)---(his words, not mine)--

Thats how I found the old long lost Gainsville Raceway, a 3/8 mile dirt oval which ran in 1965, or so.

Dick Joyce, a local racing hero/legend---and lot's of history to go with it.
And a good well-drilling Co. to boot.

[ancrdave]

Dick Joyce Photos

Loved watching Dick Joyce back in the 1960s at Old Orlando and other tracks... The first photo is Dick with his Flying Phone Booth Model T Sportsman at Orlando... #2 is the same car racing with Bob Luscomb's No. 1 '32 Ford five window coupe at Deland... Last pic is Dick in a 1960 Dodge LM racing Robbie Ashton at Deland... Dick tore that old Dodge up pretty good in the first race held on asphalt at New Smyrna in 1967...

Check out these Deland Raceway photos... If you ever had a chance to be there, this was as fun a place as you could go to... Just pull your car up to the fence, pull out the picnic dinner and watch the races! My mom always insisted we park next to a tree just in case one of the guys got a little outta control...

[ancrdave]

Another neat place in Orlando from the 1950s-1960s was the Lake Fairview Quarter Midget track located in the softball/boat ramp etc. complex near the corner of Hwy 441 (South Orange Blossom Trail) and Lee Road... All that remains today is the little building they used as a concession stand... Saw a lot of races there when I was a kid and a lot of young drivers who went on to bigger things... The best deal there was the Tangerine Invitational at Christmas... That actually got started in the mid 50s when they ran the program at the Tangerine Bowl in Downtown Orlando (now the Citrus Bowl), hence the name "Tangerine" Invitational... There would be kids from everywhere and I can remember Danny Smith of WOO Sprint Cars and the Knuckles Brothers, Jeff and Jerry I think, running there before their days in USAC Midgets... One kid that blew everyone away was Jenny Zink, daughter of Indy Car owner John Zink... She was so good, nobody could do a thing with her... Had she come up today, she would be in the same class as Danica Patrick or Jo Long, and probably even better. Once the track closed up, everything moved out to Clarcona Horseman's Park for many years and the Tangerine was a huge deal there attracting over 300 cars each year until that place was shut down a few years ago... I'm not sure if they still run the Tangerine or even if the Mid-Florida Quarter Midget Club still exists...
I have no idea how to load You Tube stuff on here, but there is an 8MM out there on You Tube of the track when it was new in the late '50s...

[ancrdave]

Loved watching Dick Joyce back in the 1960s at Old Orlando and other tracks... The first photo is Dick with his Flying Phone Booth Model T Sportsman at Orlando... #2 is the same car racing with Bob Luscomb's No. 1 '32 Ford five window coupe at Deland... Last pic is Dick in a 1960 Dodge LM racing Robbie Ashton at Deland... Dick tore that old Dodge up pretty good in the first race held on asphalt at New Smyrna in 1967...

[billy badd]

I loved the old cars. No look alikes. billy

[oneoff]

Dave did you notice that Robbie's '67 Chevy is newer than half the cars in the back ground? That car looked brand new when the race started!

[egspeedway]

Not only do I remember seeing Dick Joyce's phone booth car I was more impressed with it's sound. He was probably one of the first to use the plymouth slant six but the thing sounded like a beehive when it went by. I would love to know what the rpms were. The only other car (non offy) that sounded that good was Billy Myers 289 Ford at Eau Gallie. Porbably why I am almost deaf but it was worth it. Now if someone would use a little castor oil in their fuel I would be in sensory heaven at the track.

[palmbayer]

Hey Jimmy,

Only ran RC cars in "87" as a senior in high school. Raced at the Oval in Edgewater, The Whip, and space coast raceway. Raced a Parma Panther 1/12 scale car .... A very heavy outdated P.O.S. !! BUT it would run for ever on a charge.

Got a 1/10 scale Bolink car while stationed in VA Beach(1992). Raced it once and traded it and a 25" console TV for a 78 Impala (enduro car for Langley Speedway)

[dibbs7j]

love it when you guy's get to telling racing history and posting pic's, i'am 33 and remember going to the fairgrounds back in the 80's. got some old vhs tape when my dad raced mini stocks with david reutimann. was always hanging around their shop with wayne jr. (pookie) playing in the cars that were parked out in front of the shop bay's.

[Jimmy McKinley]

Hey Jimmy,

Only ran RC cars in "87" as a senior in high school. Raced at the Oval in Edgewater, The Whip, and space coast raceway. Raced a Parma Panther 1/12 scale car .... A very heavy outdated P.O.S. !! BUT it would run for ever on a charge.

Got a 1/10 scale Bolink car while stationed in VA Beach(1992). Raced it once and traded it and a 25" console TV for a 78 Impala (enduro car for Langley Speedway)

Wow. we may have crossed paths somewheres along the way I've been running these things since '86 (started out in Vero and Ft. Pierce).

Then...I was at Norfolk from '91-'99. Was pretty much a Langley regular for most of those years...

I'll be down that way in about two weeks (for Christmas/New Year's) in Vero. Wanna get together and swap stories?? LOL...

[palmbayer]

Wow. we may have crossed paths somewheres along the way I've been running these things since '86 (started out in Vero and Ft. Pierce).

Then...I was at Norfolk from '91-'99. Was pretty much a Langley regular for most of those years...

I'll be down that way in about two weeks (for Christmas/New Year's) in Vero. Wanna get together and swap stories?? LOL...

sounds good bro.